The invention relates to a compound acoustic apparatus for automotive vehicles, and more particularly to such apparatus including a radio receiver and a magnetic tape player which is adapted to be mounted on an interior panel such as the dashboard or console panel of an automobile, for example.
A radio receiver of standard design which is used on automotive vehicles includes a control panel on its front surface. A horizontal array of tuning pushbuttons is disposed adjacent to the lower end of the panel while a horizontally elongate tuning dial extends along the upper end thereof. A manual rotary tuner knob is located on one lateral side of the panel while a rotary volume control is located on the other side and is coaxial with a power switch. To accommodate such a radio receiver, an automobile is usually provided with an interior panel such as a dashboard or a console panel which is formed with a rectangualr slot for exposing the central region of the operating panel including the tuning pushbuttons and the tuning dial when the radio receiver is mounted on the rear side of the panel. Additionally, the panel is formed with holes through which shafts associated with the rotary tuner and the volume control extend.
However, the recent trend of preference of car drivers shifts toward a high performance stereophonic radio receiver, or a compound acoustic apparatus which additionally includes a magnetic tape player cooperating with an eight-track tape magazine or four-track tape cassette. Such a high performance compound apparatus requires a number of controls including the switching between the radio and the tape operation, high and low tone control, loudness control, the balancing of left- and right-hand loudspeakers, the switching between a stereophonic and a monaural operation. This results in an increased number of controls such as knobs and buttons, which occupy an increased area of the front panel. Hence it is difficult to mount such an acoustic apparatus of an increased size on an interior panel which is formed with mounting slots and holes of conventional design.